Lauren C. Moye, FISM News
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Ukraine has gained full control of Lyman, a strategic logistics hub that can be used to gain a greater foothold in the larger Donbas region.
“As of 1230 (0530 ET), Lyman is fully cleared,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram video posted on Sunday.
Ukrainian troops encircled the city, which recently housed up to 5,500 Russian troops and had been under the invader’s control since May. Moscow has not shared an update on the city or the status of troops.
However, on Saturday Russia said it was pulling troops from the city in response to “the creation of a threat of encirclement.”
Ukraine’s successful recapture of Lyman is the most significant battlefield gain the nation has had in weeks in the defense of its sovereign territory. Lyman was a logistics and transport hub for Russia’s operations in the north of the Donetsk region, which makes up the larger Donbas along with Luhansk.
Not only is Lyman a crippling loss for Russia, but it opens up a path for Ukraine to retake further territory in the Donbas.
“The liberation of this city in the Donetsk region is one of the key factors for the further de-occupation of the Luhansk region,” Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of the Luhansk region, stated on Telegram earlier today.
Russia declared the full capture of the Luhansk region in early July.
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the annexation of both Donbas regions along with two others in the southern part of Ukraine. Together, the lands represent around 18% of Ukraine’s land surface
The loss of Lyman is a stinging rebuke to Putin’s declaration.
“Over the past week, the number of Ukrainian flags in Donbas has increased. There will be even more in a week’s time,” Zelensky vowed yesterday evening in an address.
World leaders have condemned the annexation as a sham. U.S., Turkey, Australia, and others have placed greater sanctions on individuals in Russia in response.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin applauded the victory as “significant.” He noted that the loss of supply lines “presents a sort of dilemma for the Russians going forward.”
However, an escalation into nuclear warfare in retaliation remains a real threat. The setbacks have disgruntled some Putin allies, who have become more outspoken on the use of nuclear weapons in the now seven-month-long war.
Ramzan Kadyrov, who leads Russia’s southern Chechnya region, suggested on Saturday that more “drastic measures should be taken” including the “use of low-yield nuclear weapons” in the most direct call to date.
Putin has previously said he was not bluffing when he said he would defend Russia’s “territorial integrity,” which included the four Ukrainian territories.
“What [the victory] means in terms of potential escalation, I won’t speculate on that. But what it does mean for the battlefield is that the Ukrainians continue to make progress,” Austin said.
The U.S. has vowed decisive action if Russia does involve nuclear weapons.
The escalation of warfare is only one nuclear concern in the war. Russia occupies the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia. On Friday, Russian soldiers detained the director-general of this plant, Ihor Murashov.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, a U.N. nuclear watchdog, has confirmed this event, which they say poses a safety risk at the nuclear power plant.
IAEA has been in contact w/ relevant authorities seeking clarifications on temporary detention of #Ukraine #Zaporizhzhya NPP Murashov; detention has very significant impact on the individual & the 7 nuclear safety & security pillars, @RafaelMGrossi said. https://t.co/KYluTWhsfZ pic.twitter.com/oPQQuHiSX8
— IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) October 1, 2022
“IAEA Rafael Grossi expressed the hope that Mr. Murashov will return to his family safely and promptly and will be able to resume his important functions at the plant,” the agency stated.
Grossi hopes to create a protection zone around the power plant and will be holding talks in Moscow and Kyiv next week.